WATCH: We need an “urgent review” into local lockdowns, says Starmer

Keir Starmer has called for an “urgent review into whether these local lockdowns are working in the way intended” after he highlighted that of the 48 areas that have seen additional restrictions, only one has seen those measures removed.

Responding after the Prime Minister delivered a televised Covid briefing alongside the chief medical and scientific officers this evening, the Labour leader voiced his concerns about whether the government’s strategy to suppress the virus is working.

Commenting on the prospect of more restrictions, Starmer said: “The government is not ruling out further restrictions. When they have introduced restrictions, we have supported them, so we’ll look at whatever they put forward.

The Labour leader’s comments follow a session of Prime Minister’s Questions earlier today, in which he questioned the efficacy of the approach previously described by the Prime Minister as a “whack-a-mole strategy”.

Starmer added: “There are 48 areas with local restrictions and only on area, Luton, has come out of restrictions. So, there needs to be an urgent review into whether these local lockdowns are working in the way intended.

“Obviously, we will listen to what the government has to say about further restrictions. We all want the infection rate to come down. That is the national interest, and we’re all behind that effort.

“But there does need to be a strategy. There needs to be clear communication. And test, trace and isolate still hasn’t been fixed.”

The Prime Minister told the public this evening that he “will not hesitate” to introduce further Covid restrictions to combat the virus, but stressed the that the government is hopeful that these will not be needed.

A further 7,108 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed by the Department for Health and Social Care yesterday, down only slightly from Monday’s record of 7,143. 71 virus deaths were confirmed.